South Lakes Wild Animal Park, Dalton

Having received a leaflet through my door for a "buy one get one free" admission to the South Lakes wildlife park we thought it would be different than going to our usual haunts of Chester Zoo and Knowsley Safari Park. This park seemed different and indeed it was.

On arrival we were directed to a piece of land / field on the opposite side of the road to park on. Two attendants then allocated us a space. As we walked back towards the road another driver was arguing with one of the attendants as he did not want to park on the grass and damage his car / exhaust. We were a little wary of leaving our car there as this did not seem safe.
We then had to walk across the road and up a small, yet significant if you are unfit, hill , towards the entrance.

A lot smaller than other parks we'd visited we found it very easy to see the whole park within the 4 hours we had there. One of the main reasons we wanted to go to this zoo was that the leaflet advertised Hippos, which Chester or Knowsley do not have. We were therefore VERY disappointed when the hippos were nowhere to be seen! We went back a couple of times but they were still not there.

The free roaming lemurs were the highlight of the day, however there were barriers everywhere which you were not allowed to cross and warnings that they could bite! Eeeek! The lemurs tended to stay behind the "barriers' although it was just different to know they could jump on you at any time.

The walk-in Condor & Vulture Aviary was also something different that we all enjoyed. We managed to catch the feeding time for the vultures which was very informative. It was also great that the birds could fly around you. There were also Macaws and other birds within the aviary.

The one thing I did comment on a few times was the amount of space there was on the walkways. They were very limited and we had to slide past people many times. There were also a lot of hills and a few steps, which I would imagine would be very difficult for anyone in a wheelchair or pushing a buggy.

OTHER INFO:

Toilets: Only one block of toilets situated near the entrance. We only used the womens toilets but found them to be very clean and we did not have to queue.

Restaurant: The Maki restaurant is the only place within the park to buy food. We found the food to be very nice. Didn't feel like it had been mass produced and thrown on your plate. The cheeseburger was lovely. We had no complaints. We ordered our food and were given a number to display on our table. The food would then be brought out to us when ready. We were given a 25minute waiting time however we were brought our food approx 15 minutes later.
Adult meals were £6.50 and I think my daughters was £3.50.

NB: There are also a couple of picnic areas within the park and at least 2 kiosks to buy ice creams/drinks.

Opening Times: 4th April 2009 - 1st November 2009
10am - 5.00pm
Last admission 4.15pm

Admission Prices:
Adult: £11.50
Child 3-15: £8.00
OAP: £8.00
Under3's: FREE

Buying 'The Guide Book' is the only way to get a map. This costs £2.50.

Feeding Times/Talks: Easter 09 - 1st November 2009
11.30 pm Hand feed Giraffes - walkway inside if wet
12.00 pm Meet a snake and cure any fears
12.30 pm Apes and Monkeys feeding
1.00 pm Rhino conservation talk
1.30 pm Spectacled Bears
2.00 pm Lemurs - you can help us feed them
2.30 pm Tiger feeding - unique in Europe see video now
3.00 pm Penguin Feeding- Hand feed our colony of penguins
3.20 pm Vulture feeding
3.45 pm Giraffe conservation talk followed by
4.00 pm Hand feed giraffes
4.25 pm Lions attack their food up 6m high trees